Deep Sea Habitats

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Deep Sea Habitats

• Marine Biology
• Dr. Ouida Meier

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Factors Driving Deep Sea Systems

• High pressure (1 atm/33 ft)
• Low temperature (4?C)
• Depth
• Lack of sunlight
• Lack of photosynthesis
• Scarcity of food resources
• Enormous volume of water further reduces
  encounter probability (mates, prey)

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Deep Sea biota

• 75 of sea floor is below 3000 m depth
• Imported nutrients from photic zone
• Seasonal pulses of organic matter
• Seafloor communities low biomass but surprisingly
  high biodiversity
• Most benthic organisms in the deep sea
  (polychaetes, arthropods, molluscs, echinoderms)
  survive on detritus in sediment
• Low biomass but high diversity of fish species
  (why?) scavengers and predators

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Factors Driving Hydrothermal Vent Systems

• High pressure
• Low temperature
• Depth
• Lack of sunlight
• Lack of photosynthesis
• Scarcity of food resources
• Enormous volume of water further reduces
  encounter probability
• Counteracted by
• Chemosynthetic bacteria (primary producers)
• Hot, mineral-rich water
• Location advantages and disadvantages

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Succession in Hydrothermal Vents

• New vent forms at diverging plates
• Chemosynthetic bacteria
• Amphipods, copepods
• Grazers/filter feeders limpets, clams, mussels
• Scavengers vent crabs, worms, fish
• Predators vent crabs, octopi
• Symbiotic with primary producers (bacteria)
  vestimentiferan worms, giant clams
• 1. Tevnia jerichonana
• 2. Riftia pachyptilia
• Longevity of vent itself estimated at years to
  decades

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Factors Driving Methane Vent (Cold Seep) Systems

• High pressure
• Low temperature
• Depth
• Lack of sunlight
• Lack of photosynthesis
• Scarcity of food resources
• Enormous volume of water further reduces
  encounter probability
• Counteracted by
• Chemosynthetic bacteria (primary producers)
• Cold, mineral-rich water
• Location advantages and disadvantages

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Bioluminescence

• http//www.lifesci.ucsb.edu/biolum/chem/
• Luciferin Luciferase O2 -
• Oxyluciferin light
• or
• Photoprotein Ca2 - light

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Deep Sea and Midwater Creatures

• Reportedly brought to surface or washed ashore
  in Phuket following the earthquake and tsunami of
  26 Dec. 2004.
• Origin and authorship of photos unknown these
  were circulated via email with no references
  given. Captions are taken from titles of images.

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Aphyonous
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Basketwork eel
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Black dragonfish
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Blind lobster
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Blob fish
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Carrier shell
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Chimaera fish
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Chimaera pup
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Coffinfish
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Crab
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Fangtooth
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Firefly squid
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Gunard
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Hatchetfish
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Lizard fish
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Oreo dory
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Prickly shark
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Sea spider
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Shovel nosed lobster
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Stargazer
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Stone crab
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Swimmer crab
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Tongue sole
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Umbrella mouth gulper eel
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Viperfish